Boil the sweet potatoes, peel, mash well and keep aside.

For the filling break solid jaggery coarsely into pieces. Now In a Deep frying pan (nonstick preferably) add the jaggery and water, keep stirring over low heat until the jaggery melts completely and a thick mixture forms. Add some more water if required, so that the jaggery doesn’t burn. 

Add grated coconut into the thickened jaggery mixture, stir well and keep cooking over low heat until a soft mixture forms. Remove from the heat and keep aside.

Add maida and rice flour to the mashed potatoes, knead well. If the dough becomes sticky, you can add a little more maida at this stage. Keep kneading until you get a soft, lump-free dough. Care should be taken not to knead firm dough, otherwise, the outer shells of Puli will not soak the syrup well later on and they might taste chewy. 

Take a lemon-sized ball from the dough, pat the ball to a small round by using your plums.

Add 1 tbsp of the coconut filling, and close the rounds to oblong shape Puli. Do this one at a time for each ball. Seal the Puli properly, so that the filling doesn’t get spill from inside at the time of frying.

Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan/kadai. Start frying the Pulis over medium heat until golden in colour. Do not overcrowd the kadai, fry 2-3 Pulis at a time, and flip them gently.

In-between frying the Pulis start making the jaggery syrup (read note). For the syrup break solid jaggery coarsely into pieces. Add water and jaggery pieces to the pan, simmer over low-medium heat until there is no visible lump from the jaggery, remove from the heat.

Transfer the Pulis to the warm syrup and leave them soaking in the syrup minimum for 2 hours before serving.

Store Ranga Alur Puli in an airtight container and keep refrigerated, consume within a week. You can reheat this before serving, they taste best while warm.